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Monday, June 23, 2014

I Did Not Know That -- Ken Holtzman

I know that Ken Holtzman played for the Cubs and was a big part of the beloved 1969 squad. He threw his first of two career no-hitters on August 19,1969 against the Braves.

I also know that after the 1971 season Kenny was dealt to Charlie O. Finley's Swingin'A's. During the A's three Championship seasons he went 59-41 with a 2.85 ERA. He also went 4-1 in the 3 World Series.

I know that Kenny played for the New York Yankees before coming back to finish his career where it began.

What I didn't know (and thanks for scrolling down this far) was that Holtzman once wore the cartoon bird. In the Spring of 1976 he was a member of the Baltimore Orioles. On April 2 he was acquired by the Orioles along with Reggie Jackson in the deal that sent Don Baylor and Mike Torrez to the A's. On June 15, after just 13 appearances and a 5-4 record Ken was traded again, this time to the New York Yankees in a ten player mega-deal.

As far as I know there are no baseball cards of Holtzman with the Orioles nor many photos. Here are the ones I've found.

Well, this is a sort of card. It was part of a large set available in perforated sheets at either Crown gas stations or at Memorial Stadium in 1991.